49ers have ample salary-cap space, but more big signings unlikely

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch, left, gestures beside newly signed player Weston Richburg during a news conference Thursday, March 15, 2018, in Santa Clara, Calif.

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch, left, gestures beside newly signed player Weston Richburg during a news conference Thursday, March 15, 2018, in Santa Clara, Calif.

Photo: Ben Margot, Associated Press

Photo: Ben Margot, Associated Press

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San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch, left, gestures beside newly signed player Weston Richburg during a news conference Thursday, March 15, 2018, in Santa Clara, Calif.

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch, left, gestures beside newly signed player Weston Richburg during a news conference Thursday, March 15, 2018, in Santa Clara, Calif.

Photo: Ben Margot, Associated Press

49ers have ample salary-cap space, but more big signings unlikely

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On Thursday, moments after general manager John Lynch said the 49ers still had about $33 million they could spend in free agency, he indicated most of that money would remain in the team’s coffers.

“We’re not all the way done yet, perhaps,” Lynch said, looking to the rest of free agency. “We’ll use that wisely. We got the guys that we targeted that would help us best become a better football team.”

Translation: Despite still swimming in salary-cap space, the 49ers are largely standing pat after making center Weston Richburg and running back Jerick McKinnon their only significant free-agent signings.

Underwhelmed? Then it’s probably best to explain that there is a method to the 49ers’ apparent cheapness. Lynch said that $33 million, which doesn’t include money needed to sign the incoming draft class, will be spent, eventually. Much of it will be used on players already on the roster.

Right tackle Trent Brown, 24, and safeties Jaquiski Tartt, 26, and Jimmie Ward, 26, are all recent draft picks in the final year of their contracts. In addition, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, 24, will be eligible to receive what figures to be a hefty contract extension after the 2018 season.

“Our promise is that we will spend every dollar of that,” Lynch said, “but we’ve got a lot of players that we think are young talented players that are going be coming up for extensions.”

In other words, the 49ers say they aren’t being tight-fisted, but forward-thinking.

Their goal to is to construct a young core that can win in 2018 without sacrificing the ability to win in, say, 2021.

In fact, Lynch recently foreshadowed their approach to free agency — and detailed their long-range thinking — at the NFL combine after the 49ers’ 6-10 season.

“We have high expectations, but we’re not one player away,” he said. “So we never want to sacrifice the fact that we really want to build this thing for sustained success. … We want to do things that fit — and fit into our idea that we’re setting this thing up not just for a one- or two-year run, but to really compete every year.”

Before free agency, of course, the 49ers secured their most important young player, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, 26, with a five-year contract worth a then-NFL record $137.5 million. They also signed starting wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, 27, to a three-year extension, and worked out a two-year extension with defensive end Cassius Marsh, 25.

The signing of Marsh, a young pass rusher with upside, is illustrative of the 49ers’ long-term thinking when addressing their roster. Marsh is a candidate to play “Leo,” the position reserved for their best pass rusher on a team that has struggled to pressure quarterbacks.

Last year, the 49ers had the sixth-fewest sacks in the NFL, and their most efficient pass rusher was Elvis Dumervil, who had a team-high 6½ sacks, 3½ more than any teammate, in an off-the-bench role. Dumervil, however, is 34, and the 49ers recently decided to not pick up the option year on the two-year deal he signed last year.

They are attacking their biggest weakness with youth. Lynch has said linebacker Eli Harold, 24, another player in the final year of his contract, will be given a chance at “Leo.” On Thursday, the 49ers signed defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu, 25, a 2014 second-round pick who was a disappointment with the Chargers, to a relatively modest one-year contract. Finally, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they used their first draft pick, No. 9 overall, on their pass rush.

On Thursday, the low-profile deal with Attaochu was announced after the 49ers held a news conference to introduce Richburg, 26, and McKinnon, 25, who were acquired to be main cogs of their young core.

Lynch termed them “the top two guys on our priority list,” and their contracts back up his words. The 49ers used their ample cap space to acquire the players, who, Lynch said, each attracted interest from at least five other teams.

Richburg’s five-year, $47.5 million deal makes him the NFL’s third-highest-paid center, on a per-year basis, according to OverTheCap.com. McKinnon, a career backup, signed a four-year, $30 million deal that ranks fourth among running backs.

Their signings came days after the 49ers landed All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, who became available after he was released from the Seahawks. To some, that move was an indication the 49ers had moved from rebuilding to making a Super Bowl run.

However, on Monday, two days before the start of free agency, Shanahan said acquiring Sherman didn’t mean their patient plan had been tweaked.

“I think that’s reading way too much into it,” Shanahan said. “Way too much. We wanted to add some corners to our roster. … We’re trying to do what’s best for us now and in the future.”

Indeed, Sherman, who will turn 30 on March 30, is an outlier on a roster loaded with 20-somethings. After trading center Daniel Kilgore, 30, to the Dolphins on Thursday, the 49ers have just five offensive or defensive players who are 30 or older.

That group includes Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley, 33, the team’s longest-tenured player who, Shanahan recently said, probably deserves a pay raise. Staley is due to earn base salaries of $4.8 million the next two seasons, which means he’s earning far less than Richburg, a newcomer who is far less accomplished.

The discrepancy could be a problem, but the 49ers can dip into their $33 million to address the potential issue and reward a player on their roster.